Tag Archives: aerodynamic

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This Is The APD Concept From Vmoto And Pininfarina

November 10, 2023 David

If you paid attention to EICMA 2022, you might remember the aerodynamic electric concept that electric mobility specialist VMoto and world-renowned design firm Pininfarina debuted at the event. In 2023, both firms are pleased to show off how their partnership has progressed.

This is the APD Concept, which Vmoto describes as “the preview of a new scooter model that Vmoto will introduce into the range in the near future.” Previously, Vmoto has focused on smaller scooters, not maxi scooters.

The APD Concept is clearly an electric maxi scooter—a genre that hasn’t been common among most electric manufacturers so far. The most well-known electric maxi scooter introduced to date is the BMW CE-04. To be completely fair, the APD Concept kind of looks like it could be a cousin of that design.

Still, maxi-scooters offer an eminently practical combination of power and on-board storage space that’s appealing to a certain kind of rider. It was only a matter of time (and probably also energy density and battery pack advancement) before electric OEMs started expanding in this direction.

15 Photos

Vmoto also refers to the APD concept as “The Power of the Air,” stressing the importance of aerodynamic developments in this concept. While good aero has been a pursuit among vehicle makers for about as long as motorized transportation has existed, it’s especially important for extending range on EVs. Less wind resistance = squeezing every last kilometer out of a full charge.

“We are extremely excited to be able to present the new Concept APD at EICMA 2023, the most important motorcycle fair in the world,” Vmoto International president of strategy and business development and chief managing officer Graziano Milone said in a statement.

“The partnership with a historic company like Pininfarina is a source of pride for our entire company and I believe that the final result is absolutely extraordinary: a scooter that is not only beautiful, but innovative and high-performance, which combines Vmoto’s electric technology with the Italian style of the designers by Pininfarina,” he concluded.

It’s not yet clear how near the “near future” that Vmoto mentions might be for whatever production electric maxi-scooter the APD Concept eventually becomes. In any case, we’ll look forward to seeing the finished item once it does.

Featured

6 Reasons To Choose the Volvo C40 Recharge This Festive Season

September 20, 2023 Prafful Singh

The C40 Recharge is Stylish, Electric, Aerodynamic, and Offers Impressive Range!

Volvo has been at the forefront of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. It introduced its first fully electric car – the XC40 Recharge – globally in 2019 and brought it to India in 2022. Now, it has launched its first all-electric vehicle in the Indian market, the C40 Recharge. With the festive season upon us, here are six compelling reasons why the Volvo C40 Recharge would be an excellent choice:

No Range Anxiety

The C40 Recharge is equipped with an updated version of the 78kWh battery pack found in the XC40 Recharge. With a impressive claimed range of up to 530km according to the WLTP test cycle, Volvo has ensured that you won’t have to worry about running out of charge, making it perfect for long trips, even outside the city.

What’s great is that the C40 Recharge’s high range doesn’t compromise its performance. It comes with a dual-motor setup rated at an impressive 408HP and 660Nm. It can go from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Additionally, it supports 150kW fast charging, which can charge the battery from 10 to 80 percent in just 27 minutes.

State-of-the-Art Lighting

The C40 Recharge comes with advanced pixel light technology for its headlights. It features the signature Thor’s Hammer-shaped LED DRLs and each headlight unit has 84 LED pixels with high-beam assist to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.

Eco-Friendly Interior

The C40 Recharge boasts a unique eco-friendly feature: a completely leather-free cabin. This makes it the first Volvo car to adopt a vegan approach, showcasing the brand’s commitment to sustainability. Volvo also offers a range of color and decor options exclusively available for this model.

Seamless Connectivity

If you like staying connected while on the go, Volvo has you covered. The C40 Recharge, along with other latest Volvo models, comes with built-in Google services. This allows you to connect your smartphone to the vehicle’s touchscreen and access various Google features, including Google Maps and Google Assistant. You can also use multiple native Google apps through the integrated Play Store.

Premium Sound Experience

Music plays a significant role in enhancing driving experiences, especially during long journeys. The C40 Recharge offers an optional premium audio system from Harman Kardon to provide you with a refined sound experience. It features a 600W digital amplifier and 13 speakers, including an air-ventilated subwoofer. Volvo has also incorporated ‘Dirac Unison Tuning,’ a sound processing software that optimizes the performance of each individual speaker and the overall speaker system.

Panoramic Roof

The Volvo C40 Recharge comes with a full panoramic window roof made of tinted glass, which helps to reduce incoming light, heat, and ultraviolet radiation. The standard fixed panoramic roof features laminated and tinted glass, offering effective protection against glare and UV radiation. With the panoramic roof, you can enjoy a well-ventilated cabin at all times, contributing to a comfortable and silent ride.

So, which of these reasons compels you the most to choose the C40 Recharge this festive season? Do you have any other reasons to add to this list? Let us know in the comments!

Read More on: Volvo C40 Recharge Automatic

PeugeotUk

Peugeot Reveals Next-Level All-Electric E-3008 Fastback SUV

September 15, 2023 Prafful Singh

Peugeot has unveiled the new all-electric E-3008, featuring a sleek fastback SUV design, an advanced electric powertrain with a range of up to 435 miles, and Peugeot’s latest Panoramic i-Cockpit®.

The E-3008 will replace the popular Peugeot 3008, which has garnered praise from over 1.3 million customers across 130 countries over the past seven years. By 2025, Peugeot aims to offer a complete lineup of battery electric vehicles, with 100% of its sales in Europe being electric by 2030.

With the new E-3008, Peugeot has taken the design, driving pleasure, and electric performance to the next level:

Allure: The E-3008 showcases the elegance and efficiency of a fastback SUV with a reinvented design.
Emotion: The next-generation Peugeot Panoramic i-Cockpit® enhances the driving pleasure with its innovative features.
Excellence: The E-3008 offers exceptional electric range (up to 435 miles) and performance, thanks to the new STLA Medium platform and powertrains from Stellantis.

Linda Jackson, CEO of Peugeot, said: “The launch of the next-level E-3008 is a significant milestone in Peugeot’s transformation into an appealing 100% electric brand that sets new standards for design, driving pleasure, and efficiency. With its stunning exterior design, impressive Peugeot Panoramic i-Cockpit®, exceptional driving pleasure, and unprecedented electric performance, the Next-Level E-3008 ushers Peugeot into a new era as the French brand offering the widest range of mainstream electric vehicles in the market.”

STLA Medium electric platform

The Peugeot E-3008 will be the first model to utilize Stellantis’ brand-new STLA Medium electric powertrain. It is designed to deliver top-notch performance, including an impressive range of up to 435 miles, quick recharge time (20-80% in 30 minutes from a 160kW charger), and advanced connected services and functions. The STLA Medium incorporates a powerful electric motor and a 400V lithium-ion battery for enhanced power, efficiency, and torque.

The new E-3008 offers both AC and DC charging options. For AC charging, it comes with an 11kW three-phase charger as standard and a 22kW three-phase charger as an option. The Mode 4 socket supports DC rapid recharging up to 160kW, enabling fast recharging times. Additionally, the E-3008 features a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function, allowing users to power external devices with the car’s high-voltage battery.

Fastback SUV design

The E-3008 stands out with its distinctive fastback SUV design. Its sleek and aerodynamic shape combines elegance, efficiency, and spaciousness. Despite its compact size, it offers a generous 520 liters of boot space, on par with the previous 3008 model.

The front end of the E-3008 features ultra-compact LED headlamps and a grille, accentuating its modernity. The wheels of the vehicle contribute to both style and aerodynamic performance, with technical and geometric designs that showcase the Peugeot emblem.

At the rear, the E-3008 incorporates a “floating” spoiler inspired by the Quartz Concept, enhancing its aerodynamics and complementing the distinctive three-claw rear light signature.

The E-3008 is available in an array of six colors, including an innovative Obsession Blue that changes from blue to green depending on the lighting conditions.

Panoramic i-Cockpit®

The interior of the E-3008 boasts the striking Peugeot Panoramic i-Cockpit®. It features a curved 21” HD panoramic screen that combines the head-up display with the central touchscreen. The instrument cluster and the touchscreen are positioned for optimal ergonomics, providing essential driving information and controls.

The E-3008 introduces the i-Toggles, customizable touch-sensitive buttons that can be programmed for quick access to frequently used functions. The cabin also offers ambient LED lighting in various colors, a compact and ergonomic steering wheel with touch-sensitive controls, and Peugeot’s Air Quality System for a refreshing and calm environment.

The Peugeot Panoramic i-Cockpit® includes two paddles behind the steering wheel that enable the driver to select from three levels of regenerative braking for a customized driving experience.

Low: Similar to conventional brakes
Medium: Increased deceleration
High: Maximum deceleration and regeneration

The medium and high regenerative braking levels activate the rear brake lights automatically.

Instinctive driving pleasure

The new STLA Medium platform ensures dynamic road-holding with its redesigned front and rear axles. The platform’s architecture contributes to the vehicle’s agility by positioning the battery low between the wheels, lowering the center of gravity.

The E-3008 offers a suite of driver aids for a smooth driving experience, including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, speed limit sign detection, and various safety technologies such as automatic emergency braking and blind spot monitoring.

The new E-3008 will be available in two trim levels, Allure and GT, with three all-electric powertrain options:

210bhp/157kW Standard Range
230bhp/170kW Long Range
320bhp/240kW Dual Motor for all-wheel drive

Self-charging hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants will also be offered. The E-3008 will be manufactured at the Sochaux plant in France and will be available for sale from February 2024.

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen business class: world premiere of the all-new Passat Variant

September 1, 2023 Prafful Singh

Volkswagen presents new generation with powerful aerodynamic design, high quality and new high-efficiency drives
Two new plug-in hybrid drives permit all-electric ranges of around 100 km and, for the first time, DC fast charging with a charging capacity of up to 50 kW
Cockpit with large displays and self-explanatory menu structure developed in response to feedback from Volkswagen customers
Excellent travel comfort thanks to generous space, effective noise insulation, new seats and optional adaptive chassis control DCC Pro

At the world premiere, Volkswagen presents the first photos and facts of the completely newly developed Passat. The focus is on powerful aerodynamic design, new high-efficiency drives, high quality and a host of new technologies. In just a few days, the vehicle will be shown to the public for the first time at the IAA Mobility in Munich (5 to 9 September 2023). The new Passat will be launched as a versatile Variant in the first quarter of 2024. With more than 34 million units sold worldwide, the Passat is the top-selling Volkswagen of all time after the Golf and ahead of the Beetle.

All-new, but typical Passat. Clean and powerful – the design is clearly Passat, clearly Volkswagen, yet new from every perspective. The customer-focused range of three new plug-in and mild hybrid drives and five turbocharged petrol and diesel engine variants is characterised by efficiency. The quiet and spacious Passat Variant offers a high level of travel comfort and will be optionally available with new adaptive chassis control (DCC Pro) and new ergoActive seats (with pneumatic pressure point massage). The intuitive features of the digitalised cockpit landscape are a completely new development. The new Passat can also optionally park independently and cover long distances in assisted driving mode.

Two new plug-in hybrid drives. Kai Grünitz, Member of the Brand Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, says: “The latest evolutionary stage of the modular transverse matrix (MQB evo)forms the highly innovative technical basis of the ninth Passat generation. Thanks to the significant economies of scale of the MQB evo, Volkswagen has again democratised numerous high-tech developments and made them available for hundreds of thousands of drivers.” The two completely newly developed plug-in hybrid drives (eHybrid) with a system output of 150 kW (204 PS) and 200 kW (272 PS) are a perfect example of this. In combination with a new 19.7 kWh battery (net energy content), they make all-electric ranges of around 100 km possible. This distance turns the new Passat Variant into an electric vehicle for everyday life – this is additionally ensured by short charging times as the battery can now be charged at AC charge points with 11 kW instead of the previous 3.6 kW. The Passat Variant eHybrid can even be charged with up to 50 kW at DC fast charging stations. In addition, the combination of electric drive motor and new economical turbocharged petrol engine (1.5 TSI evo2) provides overall ranges of around 1,000 km.

New 48 V mild hybrid. Also new on board the Passat is a 48 V mild hybrid drive (eTSI with 110 kW / 150 PS) that transforms kinetic energy into electric energy and makes it possible to “coast” without using the combustion engine. Two 150 kW (204 PS) and 195 kW (265 PS) turbo petrol engines (2.0 TSI) as well as three turbo diesel engines (2.0 TDI) with 90 kW (122 PS), 110 kW (150 PS) and 142 kW (193 PS) complete the powertrain range. An automatic direct shift gearbox (DSG) is always standard. The versions with outputs of 195 kW and 142 kW come with the intelligently controlled 4MOTION all-wheel drive system as standard; all other models have front-wheel drive.

New landscape display. Volkswagen has completely redesigned the high-quality interior. Particularly striking is the clearly arranged, large landscape display– stylish, functional and progressive. The MIB4 serves as the technical platform here. The latest generation of the “modular infotainment matrix” allows intuitive operation that has been consistently tailored to the wishes of Volkswagen drivers.

Assisted parking. The new Passat Variant will launch with a further developed range of state-of-the-art assist systems. The spectrum of park assist systems is new. These include the optional Park Assist Plus, Park Assist Pro and the memory function for Park Assist Pro. With Park Assist Pro, the new Passat Variant can drive into and out of parking spaces by remote control using a smartphone. If the Passat has the memory function for Park Assist Pro on board, the system can record and store the last 50 metres of a journey on request. When the vehicle reaches the same position again – for example, the entrance to the carport at home – it offers to take over the parking manoeuvre. Independent driving out of a parking space is also possible.

In the new Passat Variant, gear changes are now carried out by means of a steering column switch with intuitive operating principle: the switch is turned forward to “D” to drive forward and backward to “R” to reverse, while the parking brake is activated by pressing the side of the switch.

World premiere of DCC Pro. The adaptive chassis control DCC Pro represents a new level of suspension technology. Its spread of maximum dynamics and highest comfort sets standards in the mid-sized class. This is made possible thanks to the two-valve technology used in a Volkswagen for the first time. The ergoActive Plus seats with a pneumatic 10-chamber pressure point massage function also offer a high level of travel comfort. Thanks to a 50 mm longer wheelbase with also 50 mm more legroom in the rear and a luggage compartment capacity of up to 1,920 litres, the Passat Variant is ideally suited as an all-rounder for business and leisure.

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